Family

Image of a happy family
A family is a group of two or more people that are related by blood, marriage (registered or de facto), adoption, step or fostering, and who usually live together in the same household. This includes newlyweds without children, gay partners, couples with dependants, single mums or dads with children, siblings living together, and many other variations. At least one person in the family has to be over 15.

People of all known cultures live in family groups. Such groups range from two people to ex­tended families, in which grandparents, parents, and children share a home. The most common family unit is the nuclear family, consisting of a mother, a father, and their children.

A family of the early 1900's - Working as a group to earn a living was an important function of the family everywhere before the Industrial Revolution began in the 170o’s. But by the time this photograph was taken, few families in industrial societies still worked together at home to support themselves.

San families in southwestern Africa live much as their ances­tors did centuries ago. The women and young children gather wild plants for food, above, and the men hunt.

Touring places of interest is a popular family activity through­out the world. 

Family is one of the oldest and most common human institutions. Since prehistoric times, the family has been an important organization in society. Most people grow up within a family and, as adults, establish a family of their own.

The term family commonly means a group of related people who share a home. The word family also refers to all a person's ancestors and other relatives. Most fam­ilies are based on kinship— that is, the members belong to the family through birth, marriage, or adoption. How­ever, some groups that are not based on kinship think of themselves as a family because they share a home or feel ties of affection. For example, foster children and their foster parents are not related by adoption, birth, or marriage. But they live together and consider them­selves a family.

In most industrialized Western countries, the typical family consists of a mother, a father, and one or two children. However, there are many other types of family structures. The smallest family unit consists of two per­sons, such as a parent and child or a couple who share a home and companionship. When a couple have chil­dren, the parents and their children make up a nuclear family. If married children and their offspring live with the parents, the family is called an extended family. An extended family's household might also include aunts, uncles, and cousins. Such relatives, along with grand­parents, grandchildren, and others, form part of an ex­tended family group even if they live in separate homes. Some cultures recognize a large kinship unit called the clan. A clan consists of all people who are descended from a common ancestor through their mother's or fa­ther's side of the family.

The family fulfils many important functions in society, but the kinds of functions vary from one culture to an­other. In most societies, the family is the social unit into which children are born. The family also provides pro­tection and training for the children. Human beings are born helpless and need care for several years after birth. Family life also helps children become familiar with the culture of their society.

The family provides economic support for its mem­bers. Commonly, the adults receive income from jobs, investments, public welfare, or other sources. This money is then shared with the other members of the family. In some cases, the family functions as a group to make a living. All family members work together at farming or some other economic activity. The family may also be a means of preserving property. The chil­dren become heirs to their parents' land and other wealth. One function of the family in industrialized so­cieties is to meet certain emotional and social needs of family members. Each member is expected to provide the others with affection, emotional support, and a sense of belonging.

This article deals mainly with families that share a household. It concentrates on families in Western, in­dustrialized countries whose economies are based on capitalism.

Family relationships

People are related to one another by blood (through birth), by affinity (through marriage), or through adop­tion. Most nuclear families consist of a mother, a father, and their biological children (the children born to them). Many other nuclear families have members who are in­cluded through adoption or remarriage. When a couple adopt a child, the child becomes a member of their fam­ily. The adopted child gains all the legal rights of a mem­ber of that family. When a divorced or widowed parent remarries, the parent's new spouse (husband or wife) becomes the children's stepfather or stepmother. The children become the new parent's stepchildren. Chil­dren from the couple's previous marriages become stepbrothers and stepsisters to one another. Half broth­ers and half sisters share either the same biological mother or the same biological father.

The parents of a person's mother or father are that person's grandparents. Great-grandparents are the par­ents of a person's grandparents. An aunt is the sister of a person's mother or father. An unde is a parent's brother. An uncle's wife is also called aunt, and an aunt's hus­band is also called uncle, but they are not a person's blood relatives. A first cousin is the child of a person's aunt orlincle. The child of a first cousin is a person's first cousin once removed. Children of first cousins are second cousins to each other, and children of second cousins are third cousins. The child of a second cousin is a person's second cousin once removed.

When people marry, they gain a new set of relatives, called in-laws. The mother of a person's spouse is called a mother-in-law, the brother is called a brother-in-law, and so on throughout the rest of the family.

Some families consider certain friends as family members because they feel special affection for them. Such friends are fictive kin, and family members might call them by family names. For example, children might call their parents' best friends "aunt" and "uncle."

Almost all societies prohibit incest — that is, marriage or sexual relations between certain relatives. They espe­cially forbid sexual relations between all members of a nuclear family except the husband and wife. Most socie­ties also prohibit marriage between such relatives as grandparent and grandchild or uncle and niece, and some extend the ban to first cousins.

Family living

In many industrialized countries, people are increas­ingly turning away from traditional family patterns. They are adopting new roles for family members and various kinds of family structures. Many of these changes reflect scientific, economic, and social developments and changing attitudes. For example, modern birth control methods enable couples to limit the size of their family and to space their children. Many young people are postponing marriage and childbearing, and many cou­ples want to have fewer children than people had in the past.

The number of employed married women has been growing dramatically in industrialized countries. In the United States, for example, the percentage of married women who work outside the home has risen from about 15 per cent in 1940 to about 55 per cent today.

This increase has led to many changes in family life. It has contributed to the ideal of the equalitarian family, in which each member is respected and neither parent tries to be the head of the family.

Divorce has become more and more common. In the United States, statistics indicate that about half the mar­riages that took place during the 1970's are likely to end in divorce. In the United Kingdom, the divorce rate more than trebled between 1968 and 1987. But divorced peo­ple often remarry. This fact suggests that many divorced people have not given up on family life. Instead, they be­lieve they can find happiness in marriage with a new partner.

Home life. The home is the centre of family activities. These activities include caring for the children, playing games, watching television, housekeeping, and enter­taining friends. In the home, children learn basic social skills, such as how to talk and how to get along with oth­ers. They also learn health and safety habits there. In ad­dition, family meals can be a major source of nutrition for family members.

A family's home life is influenced by which members live in the home and by the roles each member plays. Home life can also be affected by relatives who live out­side the family's home. Traditions, laws, and social con­ditions help determine who lives in a home and the place each family member holds.

Traditions, which are based on a family's cultural background, strongly influence family life. Families can differ on account of their cultural heritage. For example, some people have little contact with relatives outside the nuclear family. But many others—especially those who belong to such cultural groups as the Chinese, In­dians, Flispanics, and West Indians—feel strong ties to such relatives and see them often. Aunts, uncles, and cousins traditionally are important in the lives of these people.

Laws regulate family behaviour in various ways. Gen­erally, these laws set forth the legal rights and responsi­bilities people have as husbands, wives, parents, and children. The laws forbid abuse of children by parents, and of one spouse by the other. Family laws also deal with marriage, divorce, and adoption.

Social conditions can affect family life in many ways. For example, black men have sometimes been discrimi­nated against in getting well-paying jobs in some coun­tries. Thus, black wives have been more likely than white wives to work outside the home in those coun­tries, to help support the family. As a result, many of those black wives have tended to have more authority in family affairs than have the white wives.

The nuclear family, consisting of a husband, a wife, and their children, is considered the traditional family in many industrialized countries. As husband and wife, the couple hope to share companionship, love, and a sexual relationship. As parents, they are required by law to feed, clothe, shelter, and educate their children.

Children depend on their parents for love and the basic necessities of life. The children, in turn, give emo­tional support to their parents and to their brothers and sisters. As the children grow older, they may be given various household chores. Most grown children eventu­ally leave their parents' home.

Traditionally, the father is required to support his wife an4 children. The mother is expected to run the home and care for the children. In many families, the fa­ther alone makes the major family decisions and is con­sidered the head of the family.

Today, however, many people are turning away from these traditional family roles and toward an equalitarian relationship. The parents make family decisions to­gether. They hold the authority in the family but try to consider the children's opinions. The children may ex­press their desires and opinions, and they have much freedom within the family. In most such families, both parents probably work outside the home. The father may help out more in taking care of the children. The fa­ther and children may share in chores that were tradi­tionally performed by the mother alone, such as wash­ing clothes, cleaning the house, and cooking.

Other family patterns. Not all people choose to marry and live in a nuclear family. For example, some married couples decide not to have children. Also, some couples cohabit (live together without marrying). They want the companionship of another person but, for various reasons, prefer not to marry. Some such cou­ples have children and live as a nuclear family, and some cohabiting couples eventually do marry. Although an increasing number of couples are deciding to co­habit, some people object to cohabitation because it conflicts with their moral standards.

In some cases, divorced or widowed parents choose not to remarry. Instead, they and their children live to­gether as a single-parent family. In most cases of di­vorce, the children stay with their mother, but they may visit their father regularly. A judge might require the fa­ther to help support his children. However, more di­vorced fathers are sharing with the mother custody of their children. In many such cases, working mothers must contribute to their children's support. Increasingly, never-married fathers and mothers are deciding to raise their biological or adopted children in a single-parent family. In some families, children of single mothers are raised by their grandparents.

Some groups of people live together as communal families. The members of a communal family might in­clude married and unmarried couples, single adults, and children. They might share child care, housework, and living expenses.

Family problems. Almost every family has problems as a normal part of living together. Many problems can be worked out in the home. But some problems are dif­ficult to solve. Unsolved problems may result in unhap­piness and lead to a breakdown of the family.

The question of divorce can be one of the most seri­ous problems a family may face. Divorce can affect every member of the family deeply. The husband and wife must make a new life for themselves, and the children may grow up in a fatherless or motherless home. Today, divorced women and their children make up an increas­ing proportion of the poor. But many experts believe that living with only one parent may be better for chil­dren than living with both parents in an unhappy home.

Couples get divorced for numerous reasons. One of the main reasons is that they expect a great deal from family life. Many people expect the family to be a con­stant source of love and personal satisfaction. However, family members spend much of their time at work, in school, and at other places outside the home. Thus, they have limited time together to give one another emo­tional support. Their experiences outside the home af­fect their behaviour in the family. They might not always feel as loving as they are expected to be.

Other problems may result from remarriages by di­vorced or widowed people. Such remarriages create the blended family of wife, husband, and each of their own children. Quarrels between the new couple over their children are sources of conflict and new divorces. Children naturally have mixed feelings about their new family. They become painfully certain that their biologi­cal parents will not be reunited. Children who were very close to the single parent may feel displaced and jeal­ous because the stepparent has a special and private re­lationship with their parent. Children also may feel fond­ness and love for their new family but be scared that the new marriage also will end in divorce or death. In addi­tion, children may see their feelings of love as a mark of disloyalty to the absent parent.

The rights and obligations between stepparent and stepchildren may seem different than those taken for granted between biological parents and children. Par­ents may recognize such differences, for example, in their right to discipline. Thus, stepparents and children are generally challenged to deal with many feelings that are not present in biological families.

Treatment of family problems. Many families can receive help with some of their problems by consulting a trained family counsellor, a member of the clergy, a social worker, or a psychologist. Many such specialists use a technique called family therapy. They meet with the entire family as a group to help them work out their problems together. Various public welfare agencies offer guidance and economic aid. Other organizations counsel family members who have a specific problem. There are also groups to aid runaway children or bat­tered children and wives.

Many people tend to view the family as separate from society. They think all family problems can be solved by dealing only with the family. They fail to realize that the family is part of society and that society influences fam­ily life. Such social problems as drugs, poor housing, and unemployment directly affect family life.

Increasingly, sociologists are finding that alcoholism, child abuse, runaway children, unhappy marriages, and certain other family problems are related to problems in society. They believe that such family problems can be reduced by dealing with the social conditions that help promote them. For example, programmes that create new jobs, improve housing, or restrict drug trafficking help support family life. With the existence of such pro­grammes, the family is no longer solely responsible for overcoming all the social problems that affect it.

History of the family

Early families. Scientists believe that family life began among prehistoric people more than 300,000 years ago. It may have developed because of the infant's need for care and the mother's ability to nurse the child.

The earliest prehistoric people probably lived in groups made up of several families. They moved from place to place, hunting animals and gathering wild plants for food. Everyone worked for the survival of the group by searching for food. At first, the early people hunted small animals. In time, they developed the means to kill or capture large animals. Some research­ers think that the hunting of large game eventually led to a division of labour between men and women. Such hunting required the hunters to be away from the camp for hours or days. The women probably found such hunting difficult during pregnancy and, after giving birth, stayed near home to nurse their young. But the men could go off to hunt large game. The women prob­ably gathered plants and hunted near the camp.

The division of labour between men and women may have helped the men gain power within the family. In many cultures, the women raised crops, and the men turned from hunting to the herding of goats, sheep, and other animals. A family's wealth depended on its herd because the animals provided a steady source of food and could also be traded for other goods. The father controlled the family's herd and thus its wealth. This control gave the father economic power within his fam­ily, and he came to be considered the head of the family. A family in which the father has the most power is called a patriarchal family.

Patriarchal families were common in early civiliza­tions. Among the ancient Flebrews, who lived in the Middle East during Biblical times, the father had the power of life and death over his wife and children. Fie also controlled the family's property. Strong patriarchal societies also existed in ancient China, Egypt, Greece, and Rome and among Flindu people in India.

The family in Western culture developed from the traditions of the ancient Flebrews and other patriarchal societies. The father remained the most powerful figure in the family. The nuclear family was common through­out history. But some households included other rela­tives, servants, or an apprentice, who lived with the fam­ily and learned the father's trade.

Until the Industrial Revolution began in the 1700s, most of the people of Europe lived in rural villages or small towns. Families produced their own food and made most of their clothing, furniture, and tools. Most manufactured goods were produced under the domes­tic system, also called cottage industry. Under this sys­tem, an entire family worked together in the home to make clothing, textiles, or other products for market.

Pioneer families of America and Australia worked to­gether to clear the land and to plant, cultivate, and har­vest crops. At about 6 years of age, children had to begin doing chores to help the family. Many settlers wanted, and needed, a large family to help with the many tasks of daily life. In addition, older children could hunt and help protect the family against wild animals, fire, and other dangers.

In rural societies, the family also served as a centre of education, religious instruction, health care, and recre­ation. Girls learned how to cook, sew, spin, and weave from their mother. Boys learned farming or a trade from their father or were apprenticed to a skilled worker. In many families, the children also received religious train­ing from their parents. Old, orphaned, and sick relatives were cared for in the home. In addition, much of a fami­ly's social life look place there. For example, family members might gather in the evening for games or con­versation or to entertain other families in the neighbour­hood.

In Western societies, the family served as a means for passing land and other wealth from one generation to the next. Commonly, property was inherited through the male line. Families hoped for sons, who would carry on the father's name and inherit his property.

As Western countries became increasingly industrial­ized, many rural people moved to the cities to seek fac­tory work. Family life in the city differed from that in rural areas because people had to leave home each day to work. Commonly, the mother and children also held a job to help support the family. Family members had little time together, and the home became less central to fam­ily life. Hospitals, schools, and other social institutions took over many family functions. In addition, families could look to the police and fire brigade to help protect their lives and property.

Traditional families in other cultures. Most early non-Western civilizations probably also had a patriar­chal family system. Some may have had an equalitarian system, which gave women and men equal power in the family. Researchers have found no evidence of a truly matriarchal system, in which the mother headed the family and held the most power in society. But in some cultures, the mother was especially honoured.

Throughout history, most Western and non-Western societies have practised a form of marriage called monogamy. Monogamy means a person has only one spouse at a time. But many other cultures, especially non-Western ones, have permitted polygamy. Polygamy allows a person to have more than one spouse at a time. There are two kinds of polygamy, polyandry and poly­gyny. Polyandry permits a woman to have more than one husband at a time, and polygyny allows a man more than one wife.

Today, many people in non-Western cultures follow family patterns that are probably similar to those their ancestors practised centuries ago. Most such traditional families live in remote rural areas. The following discus­sion describes some non-Western family patterns of the past and the present.

Hunter and gatherer societies still exist among the Pygmies and San of Africa; among various groups of Inuit, Australian Aborigines, and South American Indi­ans; and among certain other peoples. The people live in groups of about 20 to 200 members. The nuclear fam­ily is the main family structure in many groups, but some groups live in extended families. The men hunt, and the women gather wild plants. The women also practise, and probably invented, such crafts as weaving, basketry, and pottery making.

The Chinese. From ancient times to the mid-1900's, the Chinese worshipped their ancestors and felt great loyalty to their father's clan. The family was a strong pa­triarchal unit, and women had little freedom. The father decided whom his children should marry. Commonly, a bride went to live in her in-laws' home. She was consid­ered an outsider because she came from another clan. The only way she could gain respect was to bear many sons and so increase her husband's clan.

In 1949, the Communists gained control of China's government. They began a programme to make China a strong, industrial country. As part of the programme, the Communists tried to do away with many of the ancient family customs. Today, many Chinese people live in nu­clear families much as do people in other industrial countries.

The Muslim Arabs have had an extended, patriarchal family system for centuries. Family ties are extremely strong, and many related families commonly live near one another. The culture allows polygyny, but few men practise it. Women have little freedom and live in sepa­rate women's quarters in the house. If a husband di­vorces his wife, their children remain in his home.

Increasingly, the family patterns of some Muslim Arab communities are changing and coming to resem­ble Ihose of Western cultures. This change is most com­mon in the large, industrial cities, where the people are exposed to Western ideas.

North American Indians practised a wide variety of family customs before white settlers arrived. After the Indians were forced onto reservations, most tribes tried to keep their family customs. However, more and more individuals turned away from their traditional way of life and adopted family patterns of the white American cul­ture.

Some tribes, such as the Hopi of the Southwestern United States, still follow their traditional way of life. To the Hopi, women are the centre of family life. The oldest woman is honoured as the head of the family, but her brother or maternal uncle commonly holds the most au­thority in the family.

In many cases, a woman shares her home with her unmarried children and her married daughters and their families. A husband lives in his wife's household. But he considers his mother's or his sister's house as his home and often returns there for family ceremonies.

Children are considered part of their mother's line, or ancestral family. The mother's brother, as a member of her line, has the most authority over her children. Her husband gives his children love but has little authority over them. Instead, he disciplines and has authority over his sisters' children.

Related articles.

Children

Adolescent

Adoption

Family life through history

Ancient Egypt, 

Ancient Greece

Ancient Rome (Family life)

Prehistoric people (Family life)

Family needs

Food     

Nutrition

Housing

Parents

Guardian            

Parent

Marriage

Other related articles

Community       

Health

Cousin 

Polygamy

Genealogy          

Tribe

Outline

Family relationships

Family living

Home life

The nuclear family

Other family patterns

History of the family

Early families

The family in Western

culture

Questions

What is a patriarchal family!

How was family life affected as Western countries became in­creasingly industrialized?

What responsibilities do parents have toward their children? How are second cousins related to each other?

What is a nuclear family? An extended family?

Who are in-laws?

What are some functions the family fulfils in society?

What are some reasons for the changes in traditional family pat­terns?

What is an equalitarian family?

How do some researchers think the division of labour between men and women developed in prehistoric times?